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Dec 02, 2014 | ISBN 9780307476838 Buy
Feb 11, 2014 | ISBN 9780307911728 Buy
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Dec 02, 2014 | ISBN 9780307476838
Feb 11, 2014 | ISBN 9780307911728
The News: A User’s Manual is an insightful analysis of the impact of the incessant news machine on us and our culture. The news is everywhere. We can’t stop constantly checking it on our computer screens, but what is this doing to our minds? We are never taught how to make sense of the torrent of news we face daily, which has a huge influence on our sense of what matters and of how we should lead our lives. Alain de Botton takes twenty-five archetypal news stories—including an airplane crash, a murder, a celebrity interview, and a political scandal—and submits them to intense analysis. Why are disaster stories often so uplifting? Why do we enjoy watching politicians being brought down? Why are upheavals in far-off lands often so boring? What makes the love lives of celebrities so interesting? De Botton has written the ultimate guide for our frenzied era, designed to bring calm, understanding, and a measure of sanity to a news-obsessed age.
The news is everywhere. We can’t stop constantly checking it on our computer screens, but what is this doing to our minds? We are never really taught how to make sense of the torrent of news we face every day, writes Alain de Botton (author of the best-selling The Architecture of Happiness), but this has a huge impact on our sense of what matters and of how we should lead our lives. In his dazzling new book, de Botton takes twenty-five archetypal news stories—including an airplane crash, a murder, a celebrity interview and a political scandal—and submits them to unusually intense analysis with a view to helping us navigate our news-soaked age. He raises such questions as Why are disaster stories often so uplifting? What makes the love lives of celebrities so interesting? Why do we enjoy watching politicians being brought down? Why are upheavals in far-off lands often so boring? In The News: A User’s Manual, de Botton has written the ultimate guide for our frenzied era, certain to bring calm, understanding and a measure of sanity to our daily (perhaps even hourly) interactions with the news machine.(With black-and-white illustrations throughout.)
Alain de Botton is the author of nonfiction works on subjects ranging from love and travel to architecture and philosophy. His most recent work, The News: A User’s Manual, will be released by Pantheon Books in February of 2014. His best-selling… More about Alain De Botton
“A thought-provoking look at the impact of news on culture and individuals.” —Booklist“De Botton’s utopian project . . . is to challenge our pessimistic assumptions about what news is and imagine how it could be.” —The Guardian“Elegantly argued. . . . Moves briskly across the vast landscape of contemporary news.” —San Francisco Chronicle“Broaches the problems of twenty-first century media outlets with de Botton’s signature flourish.” —The New Republic
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